Termination of your parental rights legally ends the relationship between the parent and child. Termination can be voluntary or involuntary. Our experienced family law attorneys at the Lake of the Ozarks pursue every available option in an effort to ensure that you are in the best possible situation as you as you transition into this new phase of your life. We have experience handling many types of family matters, including:
- child support
- divorce, including high-asset divorce
- paternity matters
- post-divorce modifications
- prenuptial and postnuptial agreements
- child custody and visitation
- spousal maintenance or alimony
- property division, including business valuation and division
In today’s blog we will focus on parental rights and the different ways they can be terminated. As stated earlier there is voluntary and involuntary termination.
Voluntary Termination of Parental Rights (TPR)
Voluntary TPR is just that, voluntary and can happen in a number of situations. Some examples of parents who may want to do this include:
- expectant mothers who wish to place their child up for adoption
- parents involved in a child abuse case
- parents who are going through a private child custody or child support case
If the termination of parental rights has been granted than the children’s division (CD) can implement the permanency plan. If it’s denied and the CD wishes to make an appeal, it must be filed within forty days of the date the court denied the petition.
Involuntary Termination of Parental Rights (TPR)
The most common grounds for determining a parent is unfit to parent a child may include:
- the child has been in foster care for at least 15-22 months
- the court has determined the parent has committed murder of another child
- failure to support or maintain contact with the child
- abuse or neglect of other children in the home
- child abandonment
- involuntary termination of parental rights to another child
- long term mental illness of the parent
- long term alcohol or drug induced incapacity of the parent
Each state is responsible for establishing its own grounds and they vary state by state. Involuntary termination of parental rights may be appropriate when there is clear evidence that one or more of the specified grounds exist in a case. It all depends on what is in the best interest of the child.
Children can be innocent and afraid when they are not in the right household situation. Do what’s best for your child and have their best interests at heart. Our children are our future and they need the best upbringing possible. When you hire our family law firm at the Lake of the Ozarks, you can rely on us to always attempt to negotiate a fair resolution without the need for costly and painful litigation. Our opponents know that we will not hesitate to go to court in order to protect our clients’ interests.
Contact Deputy & Mizell, LLC to schedule your private (FREE) consultation today.
Representing Clients Across the Lake of the Ozarks Region
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